An Athiest picks up a hitch-hiker

So the other night my girlfriend and I went out to Sheetz to get some late night food. She was up working on a paper, and I was busy playing computer games. While we were at Sheetz I ran into this poor looking black man in his 50’s. He and I started chatting while I was waiting for my food, and he made up some story about his family members leaving him at Sheetz, and asked if he could get a ride just two miles up the road.

Well, it was cold and windy out, and it looked like it was going to rain, so I said yes. I subtly looked him over to make sure he didn’t have a bulge in his pockets that would indicate a gun or a knife, and checked to see if it alright with my girlfriend. She didn’t object so we picked him up and started driving.

Well, apparently he can’t count because 2 miles turned out to be 18, and we were driving for a while. He talked about how he was a migrant construction worker, and how I was really nice for helping him out, and how nobody else would even give him the time of day. He also started to talk about believing in god, to which I just chuckled quietly to myself. I thought about telling him that two Atheists were the ones giving him a ride, but I didn’t want to start that discussion, and I didn’t know how he might react to that.

When we finally stopped, he mentioned how hungry he was, and so I gave him my food that I got at Sheetz. He needed it more than me. My girlfriend was a bit annoyed that we were now 30 minutes away from the college, on the night she had a huge paper due in the morning, but she understood that I was just being a good person. It was kinda thrilling, and I was glad I could help my fellow man out. I wonder if he saw my Atheist bumperstickers as I drove away…. ~_^

What some christians and atheists have in common

I wanted to take a short time out as my first post of 2009 to say that there is something some of us have in common, despite extreme religious differences. Although I might sound like I believe religion is pure evil, I know not all of it is.

One of the often preached topics in religion is that of charity, and trying to help your fellow human beings. Many ignore this, but for the few who actually do try to lend a hand, be it at a soup kitchen, building a school in South America, or giving to poor I salute you.

As a humanist my goal is to help see humanity uplifted, suffering decreased, and the standard of living improved.  That’s something that isn’t going to happen over night, and we need all the help we can get.

While we both might think each other is wrong, we can put that on hold to achieve a common goal. Just as long as nobody tries to restrict access to information and all types of health care to the needy. ~_^

Happy New year and best wishes

–GP